Lillith
by Callow
Summary: The hunger will make you insane, the bite didn't kill you, but the loneliness will make you wish it had. Who wants immortality?
1. Prologue

**_Author's notes (and other pointless ramblings that I think are important):_**

_This is a vampire!fic. I am aware of the sheer volume of these out there, but I really, really wanted to try out writing one. It looked like fun._

_Warnings for this fic include:_

_1. Apparently, in some parts of the world "hell" is considered a swear word. I only found this out recently, after offending many people. In this fic, there will be language that you wouldn't want your mum to know you're using. _

_2. Anne Rice's vampires are suave and worldly; they are an Americanised, romanticised version. Read Darren Shan; the vampires are tribal and wolfish. My vampires are my own (I hope). _

_3. I spell the way I was taught in primary school._

_4. Five years ago, I learned Japanese, for all of ten months. I remember how to write my name and say "yes", "no", and "cat". There will be no random Japanese language insertions. Please, feel free to imagine that any dialogue in English is actually taking place in Japanese. _

_5. It's an AU, kids._

**Disclaimer:**** I do not own Yu-Gi-oh!. I'm not cool enough.**

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_Prologue_

It should have been raining. Tonight was the worst night he'd had in a very long time: all narrative conventions said that it should have been raining.

Instead, it was balmy, with a light breeze. Yami growled.

He'd have felt better if it was raining; he liked the rain, and it would've distracted him from the fact that he hadn't eaten in weeks.

Just the thought of it made his stomach snarl ravenously. A glance at the street around him; he'd be unlikely to find any prey here. This street was quiet and clean, lined with well-kept houses: he usually hunted people in the poorer areas of the city. People with that hopeless veil covering their eyes, people with no one to miss them.

He shook his head violently in an attempt to clear his mind. Oh, but he was _so_ hungry. When was the last it'd been this bad? It'd have to have been more than a hundred years, but he remembered the consequences as clearly as he would if it'd happened a few hours ago.

_Lillith..._

He clutched his forehead with one hand. The hunger was making his mind skip. He growled lowly; soon, he'd be completely erratic, if he wasn't already.

Yami came to a resolution: he'd break into the next quiet looking place he came across and drain the first person he met. Then he'd run like hell, out of the city. Preferably out of the country.

It was only much later, after his head had cleared, that he realised just how stupid that plan was.

In his current state of mind, though, it felt like a good idea, and so it was that a few moments later, he was crouched beneath the newly shattered window of a nearby building. Someone, attracted by the noise, was hurrying down the stairs. He grinned wolfishly.

Across the room, a doorway inched open, spilling buttery light across the floor. A pair of worried eyes peered around.

'Hello...?' a voice called softly. 'Who's there?'

Yami's muscles tensed, his pupils dilated in anticipation. A boy slid around the doorframe, eyes roving the dim room.

'Who's there?' he repeated, hands half raised defensively. Yami edged silently forward. Unaware of his presence, the boy took a step farther into the room. His eyes fell on the broken window, and he visibly relaxed.

'Vandals,' he muttered to himself. 'Not again --'

Yami struck.

* * *

By the time he'd finished licking the blood from his lips, Yami had realised the full impact of his carelessness. He stared at the little body sprawled beside him.

'Fuck,' he said blankly.

He tilted the boy's head back and examined the wound in his neck. A few drops of blood dribbled sluggishly toward the boy's collar. Yami wiped them away with his fingertips as he searched for the carotid pulse. He hardly expected to find it; the boy was undoubtedly dead-

Shock jolted through him. He jerked his hand away from the boy's throat, licked his fingers absently. So. He was alive.

'_Fuck_,' he repeated, sitting back on his heels and staring.

As far as Yami could tell, he had two options. He could get as far away from this city as possible, leaving the boy where he lay. Or, he could get as far away from this city as possible, and take the boy with him.

If he took the boy with him, he'd be slowed down considerably, and there'd be people searching for him, that much was certain. A missing child attracted attention, something he'd been hoping to avoid recently. With luck, the boy would eventually die.

...Or be killed.

If he left the boy behind... _Lillith_. That the gaping wound in his neck would kill him was too much to hope for.

Yami shook his head and began to gather the boy up in his arms.

* * *

An aching pain coming in waves. That was the first thing he was aware of. It was red pain, deep and rich, red, violent _pain_. He could smell blood, he knew it was blood; it was a sweet, bitter, decadent reek. And it was his blood, and that was sickening on some basic level, something in him reeled at the thought of his seeping blood, at the thought of the incredible _hunger_ he felt. Pain and hunger: unpleasant, yes, very unpleasant, and so very irritating. A low growl reverberated from his chest.

He opened his eyes, but found himself blinded by pain. Horrible, lovely, beautiful red pain, but someone was so, so terribly confused.

Someone wanted to ask a question. Someone tried to form a question, but the words died in his throat, and the only sound to fall over his lips was a strange, guttural cry. For some reason, that irked him.

Above his head, something called out. A confused jumble of sounds, too loud, too rough. He didn't like it. He let loose another howl, wanting the noise to go away: he craved the dark and the quiet and the blood.

He thrashed. Something tried to hold him, tried to make vile soothing noises at him, so he bit down hard.

He licked his lips and tasted blood. Someone sobbed and he bit again.

And then his senses faded into merciful blankness.

* * *

_An edited version of the prologue, because I just can't help myself._


	2. Nemo

**To lucidscreamer, Faust Love, and Misoka, thank you all very, very much for reviewing. Big hugs!**

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_Chapter One: Nemo_

Once, his father's people had had an unspoken truce with humanity: peace was kept by both sides pretending that the other didn't exist. All that had changed very soon after he was born.

His father and the rest of his kind had retreated into the darkest corners of the world and vanished from human knowledge and memory. His mother had died, bled to death, alone and disgraced.

And then there was him, the bastard son of a human and what was, essentially, a nature spirit. _D'miisoh_, half-blood they'd called him. He'd been left behind, straddling the border of two worlds, unable to ever be a part of either. Furthermore, because heredity is a bloody-minded bitch, he was mostly immortal. Oh, he was sure he _could_ die, if he tried hard enough. Nothing so far had worked.

That was why Ryou (that was what he'd decided to call himself when he came to this country all those years ago) had welcomed the friendship of a vampire.

* * *

One sunny afternoon, Ryou was perched cross-legged on his sofa, cradling a cup of lemon tea in the palms of his hands. He'd fixed both the guestrooms; he'd been thinking of his vampiric friend all morning and the man in question had a habit of turning up in person not long after having appeared in Ryou's thoughts.

Ryou suspected it was precognition on his part and sheer dumb luck on his friend's.

He inhaled the steam from his tea. When he'd met his friend, it'd have to have been almost three hundred years now; the vampire had been a wreck. Contrary to the popular myth, the vampires weren't creatures of diabolic intelligence. They were sub-human, almost like rabid wolves, unable to form coherent thoughts and focused wholly on satiating a relentless blood lust. In many ways, the reality was far more frightening than the myth.

But his friend had been... different, somehow. Ryou suspected he'd been someone used to getting his own way once. Somehow, the human part of his mind had remained intact, and it had fought. He'd managed to force himself out of his bestial state and regain his sanity. Barely.

When Ryou had met him, he'd been teetering on the edge of complete oblivion. Over many weeks, Ryou had helped 'bring him out of himself', as he'd called it.

One night, after a particularly trying day, something had occurred to Ryou.

'You've never told me your name,' he'd said lightly.

His friend had sat by the window, the starlight reflected in his eyes.

'I don't remember it,' he'd said at last.

So Ryou had dubbed him Yami. It seemed fitting.

A smart rap on his door pulled him from his reminiscing. He uncoiled himself from his perch on the couch and set his cup aside. Just as he'd expected, he found Yami standing on his doorstep.

He _hadn't_ expected to see the fragile body draped, rag doll-like, over his friend's shoulder. A groan rose in his throat and he stepped aside to admit them. Without a word, Yami, without a word, headed upstairs to the guestroom, Ryou following close behind.

'You let yourself lose control again, didn't you,' he said, slumping bonelessly against the doorframe.

Yami didn't answer, didn't need to. He was tucking the little figure into the bed. Ryou peered over his shoulder at the unconscious boy's face.

'Yami!' he wailed. 'He's a baby!'

'He's seventeen,' said Yami. The defensiveness in his tone was contradicted when he sank onto the bed and lowered his face into his hands. 'His wallet was in his jacket pocket. I found his student card.'

Ryou pinched the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger. Compared to them, the boy was a baby; he was a formidable five hundred and twenty-seven years old, and neither of them was sure of how old Yami was. When pressed, Yami would give his age as 'probably more than a thousand years'. More importantly, when the boy awoke, he'd be a ravening, half-crazed creature of the night. Resignedly, Ryou made a note to put anything breakable in his attic where the boy couldn't get at them.

'Alright,' he said at last. Yami raised his head from his hands. 'So you've bitten a child,' Ryou ignored Yami's glare. 'Has he woken up at all?'

'Once,' said Yami shortly. He stood and leant over the boy, brushing back a strand of hair to reveal a large yellowing bruise on his temple. 'I had to knock him out to get him here.'

Ryou cuffed him over the head, hard.

'He bit me!' Yami protested, rolling up his sleeve. Several deep cuts, still slowly bleeding, stood out against the pale skin.

'That's no excuse,' Ryou told him firmly. He paused for a moment before continuing. 'You'll both stay here, at least until he's sane again. I have a friend who works down at the hospital. She'll be able to get some blood for him.'

Ryou led the way out of the room, locking the door behind them.

'How are you getting her to do that?' Yami asked him incredulously.

'I told her the truth,' said Ryou flatly. 'Occasionally that works.'

'Only if the person you're telling has a reason to believe you,' countered Yami.

'She does,' Ryou said. 'She tried to perform a Summoning when she was a teenager.'

Yami winced in spite of himself. Ryou nodded soberly.

'Yes. She's lucky I was the one that turned up and not someone like... well, someone else.'

They had reached Ryou's meticulously clean kitchen. Yami slouched into a chair while Ryou filled the kettle.

'So, how long do you plan to stay this time?' he asked conversationally.

Yami shrugged. 'It was only going to be a flying visit. Places to go, people to see... that sort of thing.'

'You're leaving the kid with me, aren't you,' Ryou didn't turn around. Yami didn't reply. 'You can't do that.'

'Why not?' demanded Yami defiantly. 'It wouldn't be the first time-'

'Yes, and look what happened to all of them!'

'-and you're always saying how lonely you are!'

'Then why don't _you_ stay too? At least you can hold a conversation.'

'... I have things to do, didn't I already say that?'

Ryou thrust a teacup at him savagely, barely avoiding scalding him.

'You don't have things to do. You're being a coward.'

Apparently, he'd struck a nerve. Yami didn't reply instead opting to glare, tight lipped, at the wall beside him. With a soft noise of resignation, Ryou folded himself onto the chair opposite his friend.

'I understand what you're afraid of,' he said after a moment, watching Yami's profile for any reaction.

'I am not afraid -'

'Even so,' Ryou ploughed on, raising his voice over Yami's protest. 'Even so, I'm not letting you leave. You'll stay, and you'll see this through. You have to, for his sake and mine. And yours,' he added, almost as an afterthought.

'"For his sake"? What the hell does that mean? You do remember Lillith, don't you?'

'This isn't Lillith,' snapped Ryou, resting his forehead against the palm of his hand. 'And you're supposed to have grown since then. You're staying.'

'You think you can keep me here?'

'No. You can't run from me, though, remember?'

Yami was silent again. 'For a moment,' he said finally, 'you sounded an awful lot like someone else I know... I can't seem to get rid of _him_, either.'

Ryou grinned faintly. 'He'd be offended if he knew you were comparing me to him. Be glad he's not turning up for another three days-'

'_He's_ coming _here_?' Yami groaned. 'Ryou, I thought you trying to make me _stay_.'

* * *

_An editted version of Chapter One, because I really don't know any better._

_Chapter title belongs to Nightwish._


	3. The Lost Souls

_To **lucidscreamer**, thank you from the bottom of my ego for your review. _

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**_Chapter Two:_****_ The Lost Souls_**

_She'd always been such a happy girl. Even as a baby, she'd wake with her bow-shaped mouth curled in a smile, her mother had murmured brokenly late that night, long after the tears had dried. The perfect daughter, almost: so sweet, so gentle, and so very kind. Obedient. _

_Her father hadn't shed a tear; he'd just sat on the hearth, staring blindly into the flames. Friends and family had left him to work through his grief in stoic silence. A bloody axe lay in a congealing puddle at his feet. _

_If someone had looked closely, and no one did, they'd have seen how his hands shook._

* * *

Apparently, Ryou had been in. A lukewarm cup of apple and cinnamon tea sat at his elbow. He'd found it by nearly knocking it over when he woke.

Yami sat up with a groan and glanced at the prone figure on the bed, Yugi, he'd learned from the boy's student card. He hauled himself out of the armchair he'd spent the night in, and cautiously approached the bed.

Unfortunately, Ryou's friend from the hospital hadn't appeared yet; during the night, Yugi had awoken twice, and he'd been in a wild rage both times. Several new cuts were gouged into Yami's hands and arms as a result. Ryou had forbidden Yami from knocking Yugi out again, saying,

'You have to let the rage run its course. That's one of the places you've gone wrong in the past. He'll tire himself out eventually.'

He'd been right; a few hours before dawn, Yugi had slipped into a fitful slumber. Yami had been more than welcoming of the reprieve.

The door eased open and Ryou poked his head into the room.

'I just got off the phone,' he said. 'My friend says she'll be here a little later, probably around ten-thirty.' He glanced at the bed. 'I see you've had an interesting night.'

Yami tossed him a dirty look.

'You could've helped, you know. It's not as though he'd kill you.'

'I know,' Ryou sat down in Yami's vacated armchair. 'But I thought that it was about time you got over this complex you have. I'll help now, if you ask me.'

Yami folded his arms and glared through the window at the murky sky.

'What's the time now?' he asked finally.

'About ten,' Ryou answered. He curled his legs up to his chest and rested his chin on his folded arms. He cast another glance at Yugi from beneath his eyelashes. 'I'd wrap something around my arms, if I were you.'

'Why's that?'

'He's waking up again.'

* * *

Hungry. So hungry. _Pain_, hunger. Flung his eyes open. _Light_, burning, bright_ light_.

Screamed.

Tore his throat. More pain.

So much pain, hunger, pain, _oh_!

Closed his eyes, eased the pain.

Slightly.

Still pain. Still hunger.

Lashed out, blind, so angry. Red anger.

Fingers outstretched, tangled in…soft. Nice… gripped.

'Ryou, he's got my hair.'

Words. Couldn't _quite_ grasp… Couldn't _quite_ understand. Infuriating.

Growl.

'Ryou. He's got my _hair_.'

'I can see that.'

'Then _do_ something.'

'Like what?' Pause. Fingers relaxed.

Not much.

Enough.

Hunger. Red hunger. Pain. Red.

Voices… who, what…?

'I'm _not_ going to break his fingers, Yami.'

'I didn't ask you to.'

'You were thinking it!'

Deep breath. Not his.

Voice… threat? Who? Growl, warning. Grip harder.

(Who?) Something. Scrabbling at his fingers.

Anger. Nipped. Blood…

'Ryou. He's biting me again.'

Licked his lips. Spat. _Blood_. Wrong. _Bitter_.

'If you don't like my blood, _why_ do you keep biting me?'

Angry. At him… No. Didn't like that. No.

Slitted his eyes open. Glared. (_Something_…) Eyes coloured …(word?) wine.

Yes.

Glaring. Ferocious. Threat…?

Growl.

'…Don't make that noise at me.'

Stern, warning. Almost growl. Dominant…? Probably.

New sound!

Threat?

'That's probably the blood.'

Something. Holding his arms. Restraint!

No! Bad! Thrashed.

'…Are you alright?'

'If that is the blood,' something grunted. Held him tighter. 'You'd better hurry.'

Light footsteps. Leaving. Where? Still being held.

Worry. Fear. Hunger!

…tired. Bones. Tired….

* * *

Waiting on Ryou's doorstep, a small box containing a bag of fresh blood tucked under one arm, Anzu fidgeted with the sleeves of her shirt. One was longer than the other. Another of her roommates' pranks, she supposed, probably in retaliation for … what _had_ she done to deserve it?

…Nothing that she could think of, really. It wasn't even a _good_ prank. It was just… annoying, and it'd take her ages to unpick the stitching and fix it. That is, if they hadn't cut the sleeve…

She was shaken out of her reverie when the door opened and Ryou's very relieved face greeted her.

'Anzu!' he breathed. 'I'm glad you're here.' He stepped aside to admit her.

Adjusting her hold on the box, she followed him into the hall and up the narrow stairs, placing her feet on the hardwood floor with infinite care. Ryou's house was always so quiet; the silence always seemed… almost sacred, to her. It was as though she'd walked into a cathedral…

…_Or a crypt_, she thought. Ryou opened a door on the left and motioned with one hand for her to wait outside. He quietly took the box from Anzu's hands.

'Won't be a moment,' he told her. 'Would you like to wait in the living room? I'll be there in a moment.'

Anzu nodded hesitantly, and, with a curious backward glance at the room, made her way back downstairs.

When Ryou entered the guest room, the box cradled in his hands, he wasn't surprised to see that Yugi had fallen asleep again. What did surprise him was that Yami was holding Yugi's upper body, right hand laid delicately over his shoulder blades, left hand supporting his lower back. The boy's head had slumped forward onto Yami's left shoulder. A lock of his hair fluttered over his face with every breath.

Yami glanced up as the door gently closed behind Ryou. He grimaced, almost sheepishly.

'He… fell asleep,' he tried valiantly to appear offhanded. 'At least he's not pulling my hair out or biting me any more.'

'Blood,' Ryou stated, he set the box down on the bedside table and faced Yami with a knowing smile. He knew it would annoy him. He couldn't help himself. 'Wake him up…' he allowed his smile to widen marginally, 'whenever you're ready, and get him to drink that,' he patted the box.

Yami frowned darkly. 'Yes. Fine. Are you leaving?'

'Do you need help?' Ryou asked, now with genuine concern. 'If you do, I'll just tell Anzu I'll be a little longer.'

Yami shook his head (carefully, so as not to jolt Yugi). 'Go. Entertain. Will he be sane after he drinks that?' He nodded toward the box.

'He'll be… coherent,' Ryou said slowly. 'Actual sanity may take a couple more days. He probably won't bite you as much, though.' He smiled. 'Well. I'll be heading downstairs now. Come down when you're done, I'll introduce you to Anzu.'

With that, he flowed out of the room.

'Probably,' repeated Yami flatly, glancing at Yugi.

_

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__**Before I go tonight, I just want to state an opinion. It is relevant to the fic, so if you're interested in reading it, it may explain a few things that will happen in the future.**_

_**About how I personally interpret Yami and Yugi's relationship: I realise that not everyone enjoys shonen-ai. One of my friends can't stand it. That's fine. I have no intention of stating anything explicitly anyway. But I do see them as working as a couple, and I can definitely see them falling in love.**_

**_Now that that (actually rather banal) author's not is done, I'm going to bed. Goodnight, _mes enfants.**

_This is an edited version of Chapter Two, because Yugi's little POV bit bothers me._

_Chapter title belongs to AFI_


	4. These Days

_**Bob**, **Dark Magician Girl **and** Red Eyes Darkness Dragon Lady**, thank you all very, very much for your reviews.

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_**Chapter Three: These Days**_

Ryou was worried.

There'd been nothing but silence from upstairs for almost a half hour now. He couldn't decide whether that was a good sign or not. His usually unwavering sixth sense seemed to be failing him.

'Ryou?' Anzu prodded his left bicep gently. 'Ryou? Are you okay?'

He whipped his head around to face her, hair fanning gracefully. 'Sorry?'

'You've been staring at the stairs again,' she told him. 'What's wrong?'

'Nothing,' said Ryou quickly. 'I'm probably overreacting.'

Anzu gave him a long, disbelieving look. 'Alright,' she said finally. She took a sip of tea before continuing. 'So, how have you been, Ryou? We haven't really sat down and talked much lately.'

'Nothing new, really,' Ryou admitted. He could hear the sound of shuffling footsteps from upstairs, and he turned around again. Anzu sighed softly behind him.

A moment later, Yami appeared at the foot of the stairs, his face expressionless.

'How did you go?' Ryou asked him.

Yami wandered farther into the room and threw himself down on the sofa opposite Ryou and Anzu before replying. 'He drank it.'

'And?' Ryou prompted.

'Nothing. He stared at me for a minute then fell asleep again.'

'So what were you doing the other twenty five minutes?'

Yami showed a sudden, inexplicable interest in the lacquered top of Ryou's coffee table.

'Anzu! You haven't met Yami yet, have you?' Ryou said, a little too brightly, in a bid to dispel the awkwardness in the room.

'No,' Anzu said. She smiled and nodded amiably at Yami. 'Nice to meet you.'

He offered a slightly wooden smile in return, though Ryou could see the tense lines in his posture relaxing.

'Yami's one of the friends of mine you've been giving me the blood for,' Ryou explained. 'He's a vampire.'

'Ah,' was all Anzu said, impressively unsurprised.

'I was wondering,' Yami said slowly, 'how have you been getting the blood to Ryou? Surely people notice it's missing.'

'I fudged some records at work,' explained Anzu. 'One of my roommates owed me a favour, so he had an… acquaintance, I suppose you'd call him, hack into the computers and alter some things. It says that Ryou here's a certain type of anaemic and needs regular transfusions. It also says he has some kind of skin disorder that means I have to take the blood to him.'

'And people believe this?'

'Why not? It's in the hospital records. You'd be surprised what people will swallow if they see it written down. Besides, what possible use could Ryou have for blood if it's not a transfusion?'

'I see,' Yami lapsed into silence and regarded Anzu thoughtfully for a moment, listening with half an ear for sounds from upstairs. Ryou noticed.

'I'll leave you two in peace,' he said, rising gracefully. He graced Yami with his wickedest grin. 'Your favourite person will probably arrive this afternoon.'

Yami tensed. 'You only have two guest rooms,' he said.

'Right!' Ryou said brightly. 'I can either put him in your room with you-'

'You wouldn't!'

'-Or you could move into the other spare room, with Yugi. I thought you'd like the latter more.'

Wicked grin still firmly in place, Ryou drifted toward the stairs.

* * *

It was strange that he wasn't frightened; he was certain that he should have been.

Last Yugi had known, he'd been standing in the store, mentally calculating how much it'd cost to have a shattered window fixed. Then something had moved in the shadows and –

It'd hurt, that much he was sure of. There were other details, too, he mused, a montage of swirling colour and sound, the occasional dab of a fragmented thought, all overlaid with the scent of blood.

Now, he'd woken up from the nightmare, and the sheets he lay between weren't his own. He propped himself up on one elbow.

Beside the bed (a king single, he noted absently), there was a table made of cherry wood, an armchair and an unmade camp bed. There was a window. He could see the sky -

A soft click drew his attention away from the window above his bed.

'You're awake,' said the newcomer, an ethereal young man bearing an armful of neatly folded sheets and blankets. He smiled. 'I'm Ryou. How are you feeling?'

He set the blankets on the camp bed and came to stand a little closer.

'Is it all right if I sit?' he asked, gesturing at the bedspread.

Yugi nodded. 'Where…?'

'My house,' Ryou said gently. 'My friend brought you here. You've been…' he cast around for a delicate turn of phrase, 'indisposed for the past couple of days.' He offered Yugi a friendly smile, received a hesitant curl of the lips in return. 'You probably have a lot of questions.' Yugi nodded again. 'There are few things that I think it would be best for my friend to explain to you, but if there's anything you don't think can wait -'

'Where are we?' Yugi asked curiously. 'Which town?'

Ryou's eyes softened sympathetically. 'We're not in a town. It's mostly countryside around here.'

'My family and friends…? I remember them. What about them?' he cocked his head, like a child listening to a story.

'I'm sorry,' Ryou said, shaking his head. 'I haven't heard about them. Yami said you were alone.'

'Yami?'

'My friend. Maybe now would be a good time to send him up,' he rose, smiling kindly. 'I'll be in again later. It was nice speaking to you at last, Yugi.'

As Ryou silently left the room, Yugi decided that he liked him.

He didn't stop to wonder how Ryou knew his name.

* * *

Drysdale-red† sunlight shone into the hallway through a skylight. Yami hesitated outside the guestroom door, staring at the shaft of bloody light, a glass of water clutched in his left hand.

Contrary to Ryou's earlier accusations, he wasn't a coward by any stretch of the imagination, and yet he could think of a hundred things he'd rather be doing than facing his young victim.

Walking barefoot over hot coals was high on the list.

'You have to explain things to him _now_,' Ryou had urged him whilst steering him firmly toward the stairs. 'He's not quite sane yet; he'll accept almost anything. The last thing any of us needs just now is to distress him. There'll be plenty of time for that later.'

So, with Ryou's words still hissing in his ears, Yami eased the door open.

Yugi was sitting up in bed, arms folded and resting lightly on bended knees. He glanced inquisitively at Yami when he heard the door close.

'Hello?'

Yami dragged the armchair closer to the bed and sat down, his back poker straight. Wordlessly, he handed Yugi the glass of water.

'Thank you,' he took a sip. 'Are you Yami? Ryou said you were the one who brought me here. Why'd you do that?'

'I…' Yami floundered uncharacteristically. Like Ryou, he tried to think of a less jarring way of telling Yugi the truth. After almost a minute of avoiding Yugi's wide, curious gaze, he came to the conclusion that there really wasn't one. He sighed resignedly.

'I'm a vampire,' he said flatly, watching the boy's face carefully for any kind of reaction. There was none, just a slow blinking of his eyes. Yami wondered, briefly, if he'd understood. 'A few days ago, I attacked you. I drank your blood. Somehow, you were still alive, so I brought you here.' _It sounds as though I've abducted him_, he thought wretchedly.

'Oh,' Yugi leaned toward Yami slightly. 'You sound …surprised,' he commented. 'Why? _Should_ I be dead?'

_Perceptive_, Yami thought abstractedly. He wondered if it was a part of Yugi's current state of mind or an actual part of his personality.

'You should be,' he replied, folding his arms across his chest. 'I drank more than half your blood. You _should_ be dead now.' He ran a hand through his hair uncomfortably. 'This doesn't happen often,' he confessed. 'Out of a hundred of the people I've …well, killed over the years, only three have survived. They became vampires, like me.'

'I thought getting bitten was enough to make you a vampire,' Yugi said. 'That's what happens in books and movies.'

'It's ridiculous,' Yami said flatly. 'Vampirism isn't like rabies. As far as I can tell, it's genetic, more like some forms of cancer or mental conditions. Some people seem to be predisposed to it.' He focussed his eyes on a point slightly to the left of Yugi's head. 'Apparently, the bite of another vampire acts as catalyst; it seems to activate the gene.'

Yugi nodded, still staring almost unblinkingly at Yami. 'How do you know?' he asked, shifting restlessly. The bed was too soft.

'It's a pet theory of a …friend of mine. I don't think there's anything else that could explain it, so I'm inclined to agree with him.' _Even if he is a bastard_, he added silently.

'Oh,' said Yugi again. He carefully unfolded his legs and resettled himself, with his back propped against a small mound of pillows. 'Am I allowed to walk around?'

'Not for a few days,' came Ryou's voice from the doorway. Yami turned.

Ryou had just entered, balancing a tray of food on one arm. 'I thought we'd eat in here,' he explained. 'I thought it would be unkind to leave Yugi alone.' He let his gaze linger on Yami's face for a little longer than he would ordinarily.

Yami watched as Ryou set the tray on the small table. Balanced precariously on it were four steaming plates.

'Four?' he frowned. 'He's not –!'

'He is,' said Ryou simply, settling, cross-legged and peaceful, on the end of Yugi's bed.

At that moment, the door banged open to admit Yami's least favourite person.

'Bakura,' he acknowledged curtly.

'Yami,' came the smooth reply, accompanied by the ghost of a smirk. 'Ryou told me you've been loosing control of yourself again.' Bakura allowed his wicked grin to widen, showing off his fangs to their full extent. He let his eyes trail from Yami's scowl to where Yugi sat, watching the scene unfold impassively. 'Good choice! He's cute. You always did have impeccable taste.'

Yami leapt angrily to his feet, hands balled into fists. Ryou buried his face in his hands.

'We've talked about this,' he muttered to no one in particular. Yugi turned to look at him. 'I made him promise he wouldn't bait him…' He sighed and lifted his face to glare fiercely at Yami and Bakura. 'Every time! This happens every _single_ time! Both of you _stop that right now or I'll mix turpentine in with your shampoo_!'

They quieted and stared at him.

'You know, I don't think I've heard him raise his voice in over two hundred years,' Bakura told the room at large airily.

'Just. Sit,' Ryou said dangerously.

'What will mixing turpentine with their shampoo do?' asked Yugi.

Ryou sighed. 'Nothing permanent,' he said, a little bitterness creeping into his voice. He took a deep breath and smiled sheepishly while Yami and Bakura took seats as far away from each other as they could. 'It wasn't a very good threat. If I'm unlucky, it'd make their hair fall out, and then I'd have to put up with them hanging around my house until it grew back enough for them to face the world again.'

His voice grew steadily softer as he muttered something about 'bloody vain vampires'. Yami and Bakura glanced at each other and, in a rare moment of camaraderie, decided to avoid grating on Ryou's nerves, at least for a couple of days.

* * *

Deep in the forest, she rested between the roots of an ancient tree. She'd taken Papa his lunch, just like Mama had asked, and he'd told her she was a good girl and to hurry home to help Mama.

The steady rhythm of the of Papa's axe echoed from a nearby clearing

It was such a hot day, though, she'd found herself growing tired and heavy, so she'd settled in the shade, hoping Mama wouldn't be too upset if she took just a little longer getting home... Something above her head rustled gently. A bird, she supposed. She liked birds.

In the branches of the tree, a dark shape moved, too big to be a bird. Perhaps a cat? Nothing to fear, she reassured herself: Papa was near.

The sound of the axe stopped.

In the sudden silence, she heard someone breathing...

* * *

_This has been an edited version of Chapter Three, brought to you by Callow's perfectionism._

_Chapter title belongs to Powderfinger_


	5. Memory

**_Banal author's note of the day: _**_Boredom killer of the moment: go to the _Search_ section of this site. Make sure you're looking for _titles_ (category doesn't really matter, people are unoriginal across the board). Type in _shadow, dark(ness)_, or _My Bloody Valentine_. Giggle inanely at the vast number of stories that appear. Read a few, because some of them are rather good. Go to _Quizilla_. Repeat instructions as above (except replace _My Bloody Valentine_ with either _soul_ or _heart_). Giggle inanely at the content of the quizzes. _

**_Quick vocabulary, in order of appearance _**_(it'll probably explained more in the next few chapters, but you could be waiting a while for those)_

**_D'miisoh _**_– what Ryou is. Lit. "half-blood"_

**_Kitaanei_**_ – a race very similar to Ryou's father's._

**_Kitaan _**_– adjective. A person or people of the kitaanei race._

**_Luit_**_ – basically a revenge killing._

_**Lithouèn** – what Ryou's father's people call themselves._

* * *

Ironic. He'd never liked the dark much when he was alive. Really alive, not like this. Bakura lay on Ryou's second spare bed, staring contemplatively at the tiny window above him. A moth alighted on the sill. Unlike Yami, Bakura had managed to remember snatches of his human life. It had something, he supposed, to do with being a little unhinged to begin with.

He was getting off track. The dark. He didn't like the dark... back then. He'd ..._appreciated_ it, funnily enough for the same reason that he'd disliked it: you never really knew what was lurking in the shadows. Now though, well, why worry? _He_ knew better than anyone what was lurking in the shadows.

There was a soft knock at the door and Ryou slipped into the room.

'Usually when you knock at someone's door, you wait for an answer,' said Bakura, rolling over to face him.

'It's my house,' retorted Ryou. He approached on silent feet and sat on the edge of the bed. 'You promised me you'd behave,' he said accusingly.

'I only picked a fight with him once,' replied Bakura serenely. 'And then I left him alone. Just like I promised.' He folded his arms behind his head, eyes closed. 'Really, I'm doing him a favour when I annoy him. It keeps him on his toes.'

'You haven't changed at all.'

'I hope you weren't expecting me to.'

'No. Life would be dull if you were a nice person.'

'I'll let that slide since I'm staying in your house. So,' Bakura cracked one eye open, 'what's going between His Majesty and the kid?'

Ryou frowned. 'You're looking for something new to use against him.'

'Hm, it must be good.'

'There's nothing going on,' said Ryou firmly. Bakura opened both eyes and raised his eyebrows. 'Don't look at me like that. If you're really interested, ask Yami.'

Bakura snorted. 'I thought you didn't want me bothering him,' he said sardonically.

'I don't want to talk about this with you, either. It's none of my business, and it's definitely none of your's.'

'You always spoil my fun.'

Ryou hit him with a pillow before he left the room.

* * *

Never having really needed nor, for that matter, comprehended the attraction of sleeping eight hours a night, Ryou found himself wandering down the moonlit hall, past his bedroom door, and poking his head into Yami's usual room. Unsurprisingly, Yami and Yugi were both lying awake, each either unaware that the other was awake, or else ignoring it.

Ryou announced his presence with a polite cough.

'Does anyone in this house sleep?' growled Yami, face down in his pillow.

'I've been keeping him awake,' explained Yugi apologetically.

'Don't worry,' Ryou winked. 'He doesn't actually need to sleep as much as he does.'

'No,' conceded Yami. 'I just enjoy it.' He propped himself up on one elbow. 'What're you going here?'

'It _is _my house,' Ryou folded himself into the empty armchair between the two beds. 'Besides, I have an acquaintance coming tonight. Why wait alone when I've got you to talk to?'

'Who's your _acquaintance_?' asked Yami suspiciously.

Ryou shrugged. 'No one you know, I'd think. A contact, one of my father's people.'

'I thought they didn't like you,' Yami commented.

'They don't,' Ryou shrugged again. 'I'd be lying if I said the feeling wasn't mutual. I still like to know what's going on there.'

'Why should you care? They abandoned you, didn't they?'

'The worlds are intertwined,' Ryou explained. A note of bitterness slid into his voice as he concluded, 'Everything that happens there affects us all.'

In the silence that followed this statement, Yugi lay still, listening to the sounds of the night. He could hear the soft roar of late night traffic, the occasional murmur of people out in the streets, and Yami's breathing, slowly easing into the deep, even rhythms of sleep. On the cusp of sleep himself, Yugi noticed a new sound, or rather, a lack thereof.

'Why don't you breathe?' he asked Ryou softly. 'Yami's undead, and even he breathes.'

'You're undead too,' pointed out Ryou calmly. 'And I do breathe. You just can't hear it.' He smiled. 'I can teach you to do it, if you want. You'll probably find it useful one day.'

'What do I do?' Yugi asked curiously, sitting up in bed.

Ryou resettled himself in the armchair, leaning forward on his elbows. 'Alright,' he said softly. 'The first thing you have to do is listen to yourself. Listen to your breathing, listen to your heartbeat. Then just... focus on silencing them.'

'That's it?'

'That's it. It takes a lot of practice, all magic worth learning does.'

'Magic? But that's -!'

'It's magic. Very basic magic. It's an exercise in channeling your will. That's all magic is, bending the worldaround your will.' Ryou paused thoughtfully for a moment. 'One other thing you'll need to remember,' he added slowly, carefully, 'is that everything comes at a price. Don't ever forget that.'

Yugi cocked his head curiously. 'Why?'

'It'll be important.'

Before Yugi had a chance to ask Ryou what he meant, a confident knock at the front door echoed through the house. Ryou stood and made to quit the room. He paused in the doorway.

'Try to get some sleep,' he said gently, and disappeared into the darkened hallway.

The door clicked shut behind him.

Several minutes passed, during which Yugi sat listening to Yami sleeping. He heard the lock on the front door grinding open and leapt, somewhat clumsily, from his bed and out of the room.

Weird, he mused as he crept downstairs as silently as he could on still-shaky legs, he'd never been _this_ curious when he was... well, human. This was downright nosy.

Ryou and his guest were quietly making their way toward the living room; they'd be sure to pass Yugi and hear him, even if he did manage to hide from view.

He crouched in the shadows at the foot of the stairs, trying Ryou's trick.

_Listen... focus... silence_...

It didn't work.

He held his breath instead as Ryou and a shadowy figure passed him, heading into the living room. A moment later, he released the lungful of air slowly and shuffled cautiously toward the living room. There, he curled up just inside the doorway, half hidden by the shadows.

Moonlight illuminated the pair sitting on opposite one another on the sofas. Yugi couldn't see Ryou's face, but he could clearly see the visitor. Her hair seemed to glow in the moonlight, almost like a halo. She was very pretty, Yugi thought detachedly.

'I don't understand your interest in our world, Ryou,' she said, eyes sparkling in spite of the seriousness of her tone. 'People would even go so far as to say it's unnatural.'

'And I can't understand why you keep coming to talk with me, Mai,' countered Ryou. 'It's definitely not normal.' He paused. Yugi was sure he was smiling. 'What should I know?'

All mirth drained from Mai's face. 'You won't like this.'

'Do I ever?'

'This is more than just another anti-human and _d'miisoh_ law,' Mai told him gravely. 'It's getting out of control. You remember Taiyu Litikee, don't you? I think I told you about he and his supporters last time.'

'The ones who don't like humans?' Ryou said with a coolness Yugi wouldn't have believed he was capable of. 'Yes. You mentioned him.'

'Hm, well, since I last saw you, he's been getting a lot more influential. Some very powerful people have been getting behind him of late.'

'Because of his anti-human stance?'

'No, because of his views on the _kitaanei_. The anti-human thing just complicates things. Tension between the _kitaanei_ and us is growing, Ryou. Last week there was a riot in Cou. Four people were killed, and three of them were _kitaan_.' She frowned. 'There's going to be a _luit_ within a few days, I know it.' Her fists clenched in her lap. 'The Leaders say it's nothing to worry about, of course, but the farmers, people from the border villages... they've been coming into the City. There's no room in the hostels any more. They're so desperate, they're even pitching tents in the streets.' Her voice faltered, almost imperceptibly, and her frown deepened.

As quietly as he could, Yugi shuffled closer to the pair. He was sure that he could see Mai shaking.

'There'll be war?' Ryou asked softly.

Mai could only nod.

'You'll be right in the middle,' she murmured. Shesaid something else, very softly, though what, Yugi wasn't sure.

Just as he was shuffling a little farther forward, an arm snaked around his waist and a hand closed over his mouth. He was too shocked to even struggle. Someone dragged him silently from the living room, up the stairs, finally stopping in the guest room. Upon being released, Yugi was roughly spun around, his shoulders gripped, and he found himself staring into Yami's narrowed eyes.

'What were you doing?' he demanded, squeezing Yugi's shoulders.

'I- I'm sorry, I was just curious -'

'Can't you see that this doesn't concern you?'

'But -! What if Ryou needs our help?'

'And what if he doesn't?' Yami shook his head, but didn't relax his grip. 'What help do you think you could give? Ryou is much older and much wiser than you.'

'He helped me.'

Yugi winced as Yami's grip on his shoulders tightened. 'Do you realise the kind of danger you'd be in?' he hissed. He was shaking with barely suppressed emotion. Yugi wondered why. 'You don't even know the danger you're in _already_, do you?'

'What?'

'You don't know. You really don't know,' he laughed mirthlessly and shook his head again. His white-knuckle grip on Yugi's shoulders relaxed. 'You're a vampire now. Do you know the kind of lives we lead?'

Yugi shook his head.

'Everyone is an enemy. _Everyone_. Humans, the _Lithouèn_, _kitaanei_, everyone.'

'But... why?'

'Because we're uncommon. We're ...unnatural. We're neither living nor dead. We crave blood. Tell me, why is everyone an enemy?'

Yugi was silent, digesting this.

'And you're in more danger than Bakura or I,' Yami continued as though anticipating Yugi's next question. His hands slid from Yugi's shoulders to loosely hold his elbows, 'because you're so young. Too young.' He looked away. 'I'm sorry. I didn't intend to... kill you.'

'It's alright,' Yugi turned his head to stare out at the window, feeling distinctly awkward.

'You say that everyone's an enemy,' he said slowly, after a long silence. Yami looked back at him and nodded. Yugi took a deep, slow breath, and continued stubbornly. 'Ryou isn't. I don't care what you say. I'll offer whatever help I can.'

Yami's hands clenched around Yugi's elbows and he made a noise somewhere between disgust and exasperation at the back of his throat. There was a crooked grin on his face, half hidden behind his hair.

'We'll discuss this in the morning.'

'I will help.'

'_Goodnight_, Yugi,' Yami pushed him gently back onto his bed, before turning away and lying down on his camp bed.

He kept his back to Yugi, so that he wouldn't see that his crooked grin still hadn't faded.

_

* * *

__And that concludes a very belated chapter (really, really sorry about that). Hmm... it seems Ryou has become a one-man foreshadowing show. As always, questions, comments and criticisms are greatly appreciated and encouraged._


	6. In Sunshine

**To DarkElf6 and RedEyesDarknessDragonLady, thank you both, and I'm so sorry. It wasn't supposed to take this long to update. Bloody life got in the way (again).**

_This, I think, needs to be said concerning Yugi and Yami's relationship in this story: it can be taken two ways. I've tried (and I think I've succeeded) to make it as ambiguous as possible. Here are the two readings that are possible: _

**_a) _**_Yami's beginning to feel paternal. Or, if you'd prefer,_

**_b)_**_ Yami's got a crush on Yugi._

_So, you can take it either way, I think. If you think the ambiguity about the relationship will detract from the story, and think I should just stick with one of the above directions, let me know. Either way, it doesn't really affect the plot too drastically._

* * *

**_Chapter Five: In Sunshine…_**

Even the birds had stopped singing, and all of a sudden she was wide-awake. Above her head, a few leaves whispered; the sound was so loud in the silence. She sat very still.

_A cat, it was a cat in the tree. The birds had stopped singing because they were scared of the cat. Daddy was resting._..

Something hit the ground beside her.

There wasn't even time for her to scream.

Much to his disgust, Yami was woken in the early hours of the following morning when a portion of his mattress, just beside his left elbow, sank a little. Someone poked his shoulder.

'Are you awake?'

Yami groaned and slapped the hand away from his shoulder. He buried his face in his pillow and drew his sheets up to his chin. The hand was back at his shoulder almost immediately; the gentle shaking became more urgent.

'I know you're awake,' Yami groaned inwardly as he identified the voice as belonging to Yugi. 'Come on, you have to get up. Ryou said so.'

Grudgingly, Yami lifted his head from his pillow, bracing himself on his elbows. He glared at Yugi with all the venom he could muster.

Yugi giggled and tugged gently at the sheets. 'You have to get up,' he repeated, seemingly oblivious to Yami's most poisonous glare. 'Ryou said he'd make us breakfast if you did.'

'Why should I care that Ryou's making us breakfast?' Yami demanded groggily, yanking his sheets back over his shoulders. 'Why can't you just make your own?'

'I can't cook,' Yugi said blithely. 'Besides, he's making pancakes. Come on!'

He took hold of Yami's sheets again and pulled sharply.

'Stop that,' Yami growled. He snatched a corner of his sheets and yanked them back toward him, toppling Yugi in the process. 'Go away. I _like_ sleeping in.'

'And I like eating pancakes,' Yugi countered, grabbing Yami by the wrists and dragging him bodily from the bed.

For a minute, Yami was too surprised to react. Then, grumbling, he hauled himself to his feet and pointedly brushed himself down.

'Fine,' he said, voice clipped.

'I'll make it up to you,' Yugi promised happily, performing a kind of pirouette and dashing out of the room. Seconds later, Yami heard the sounds of his feet clattering on the stairs. He followed at a more dignified pace.

When Yami arrived in Ryou's kitchen, Yugi was already halfway through a stack of pancakes. To Yami's satisfaction, Bakura was watching him in something akin to mild horror.

'How can something so small eat so much?'

Ryou, glancing up from his newspaper, looked from Yugi (still munching industriously at his pancakes) to Bakura (frozen in place with his empty fork half raised) and back again. He shrugged, and turned his attention to Yami as he took his seat.

'We're going out today,' he said. 'I've run out of a few things, and it wouldn't hurt you three to spend some time outside.'

'In the sun?' asked Yugi.

'Sunlight doesn't hurt vampires,' Yami explained, while Bakura laughed. 'We're only semi-nocturnal. Like cats, I suppose.' He turned to Ryou. 'Where exactly are we going?'

Ryou shifted a little uneasily in his seat. 'The nearest _lithouèn_ town,' he didn't look at Bakura as he dropped his fork with a clatter, and kept his face carefully averted from Yami's disbelieving stare. Instead, he spoke directly to Yugi. 'Ènyuil, it's called. It's... been a few decades since I was there last. It's about three hours' walk there and back. I know you only really started getting up and about today, but I think, if we take things slowly, it shouldn't put too much--'

Yami was the first to break out of his daze.

'Are you insane?' he demanded. 'You, an _exile_, want to take _three vampires_, one of whom hasn't even learned _basic_ self defense,into a _lithouèn_ town?'

'They'll lynch us,' said Bakura. He picked up his fork and continued eating, as though this was a common occurrence for him.

'We'll be lucky if all they do is lynch us,' snorted Yami. 'What could possibly be _that_ important?'

'To see what we can learn,' answered Ryou simply. _'Something's _going to happen, and I plan to find out what. You're coming because it _will_ affect you.' He paused and took a deep breath. 'Besides, there are some things I need that you just can't buy around the human world.'

'We're _not_--!' Yami began, but Yugi cut across him.

'I'd like to see ...that place,' he said mildly.

Yami narrowed his eyes. 'You said that you'd make up for waking me this morning,' he said lowly. 'You can make it up to me by staying here.'

'Wouldn't you like it more if I saved that favour for another day?' asked Yugi sweetly. Bakura cackled wickedly.

'No. You're not going.'

('Someone's being rather protective, hmm?' said Bakura significantly. Ryou pointedly ignored him.)

'Who do you think you _are_?'

'None of us are going to accomplish anything by bickering,' Ryou interrupted firmly. 'We'll _all_ go. If it makes you feel any better, Yami, you can hold Yugi's hand.' He rose from the table and smiled serenely. 'I'm leaving in a quarter of an hour. If you're not ready to go, I'll bribe Bakura to drag you out by your tongue.'

And with that, he left the room. Bakura leaned across the table and seized his newspaper, making a small noise of triumph when he found the crosswords untouched.

* * *

True to his word, Ryou was waiting just outside the front door, a roughly made leather bag slung over his shoulder, fifteen minutes later. In his hands was a battered scrap of paper: a map, which he was looking over carefully. Bakura was peering over his shoulder.

'You can't take that path any more,' he said, stabbing at the map with a fingertip. 'See that mountain there? There's been a rockslide in the last couple of years. That whole section of the path's blocked off.'

'You don't use maps.'

'I'm gifted,' he glanced at Yami and Yugi as they approached, Yugi looking excited, Yami fuming. 'Glad you could make it,' he chirruped mockingly.

Yami merely glowered at a potted plant that sat on the front step.

'This is where we'll be going,' Ryou told Yugi, snatching the map away from Bakura and holding it out to him.

The map was unlike anything Yugi had ever seen. Hand drawn on heavy, yellowed paper in faded ink; the map was comprised of a series of criss-crossing lines. Over that, in another shade of ink was a pattern of swirling lines, swelling and flattening like waves on the sand. Then over _that_, in yet another colour, was... writing. Slim, graceful letters glided over the peaks of the curving lines.

'Why do they shine?' Yugi asked, blinking at the lettering.

'...What?' Ryou asked. Yami and Bakura were suddenly watching Yugi very closely. 'You can see it?'

'Only if I do this,' Yugi moved his head from side to side, looking at the map from the corner of his eyes. 'It kind of hurts.' He blinked again and rubbed his eyes. Then he noticed how the others were staring at him. '...What?'

Ryou glanced at Bakura, who shrugged. Yami was still watching Yugi very closely; it was making Yugi slightly uncomfortable.

'Nothing,' said Ryou, hitching his smile back into place. He shrugged his bag into a more comfortable position over his shoulder. 'We should get moving.'

With that, he turned and set off down the cobbled path to his front gate, Bakura following closely behind him.

Yugi took a deep breath; the air smelled of dark, wet earth and wallflowers, and the breeze was cool. He glanced sideways at Yami, who was still gazing at him thoughtfully.

'Are you planning on going?' he asked, folding his arms lightly across his chest.

Yami started. His eyebrows drew together in a frown, but only for a moment.

'After you,' he said, voice and expression neutral.

* * *

Outside Ryou's front gate was a narrow road, leading away to the town proper. Across the road, winding through a sparse, dripping forest, was a packed earth track. It meandered along, as the trees became steadily denser, blocking the light from the sun. Where the sunlight through the branches was barely more than a few watery trickles, the path suddenly dipped toward a creek. Beside it, Ryou called them to a halt.

'This is where we cross over,' he said, raising his voice to be heard over the roar of water over rock. He waved the map for emphasis. 'Have you ever come this way, Yami?'

'No.'

Ryou handed him the map. 'You can only go through two at a time,' he explained. 'Bakura and I will meet you...' he tapped a point on the map, 'just there. Can I trust you not to loose Yugi?' He ignored Yami's glare at the dig, and smiled. 'I'll see you soon, then.'

He turned on his heel and returned to where Bakura stood, at the very edge of the water. They spoke together for a moment; their words were drowned by the noise of the creek. With Bakura in the lead, they began to make their way across the creek, leaping from one mossy stone to another.

And then they were gone.

Yugi blinked. 'That's it?'

'What were you expecting?' Yami asked him, grinning wryly. He perused the map, occasionally running a finger under the strange words and frowning, as though he had trouble reading them. Finally, he nodded to himself and moved toward the very edge of the creek, beckoning Yugi to follow him.

The rocks were slippery under their feet, and the water lapped at their toes. Yugi studied the place between two rocks where Bakura and Ryou had vanished, then, seeing nothing,turned his head to watch Yami expectantly.

'To reach the Other Place,' Yami said, glancing down at the map again, 'you must recite a spell... I'll do that today, you need to get used to the motion.' (Yugi wondered what he meant). 'The spell is meant to open a passage between here and the Other Place.'

'And we just... jump through?' Yugi asked a little apprehensively.

'That's right,' Yami hesitated for a moment. Then, very slowly, he reached down and took Yugi's hand. 'If you're not saying the spell, you have to be in contact with someone who is,' he muttered, cheeks reddening, in response to Yugi's questioning look. He took a slow, deliberate breath. 'Are you ready?' he asked briskly.

Yugi nodded.

'Try to keep up,' Yami instructed, gripping Yugi's hand.

A sharp tug at his hand was all the warning Yami gave before he leapt from the bank and onto the first rock, pulling Yugi with him. Without pausing, he leapt, catlike, to the next stone, and the next, and the next, muttering strange words under his breath all the while. It was all Yugi could do to keep his balance.

Soon, they reached the stone in the middle of the river. As before, they sprang almost immediately toward the next rock, but this time, above the water between one stone and the next, Yugi felt a sudden sharp pull. He gasped, clutched reflexively at Yami's hand and stared down. Several tiny, pale hands were grasping his feet, his ankles, his legs -- and suddenly, with a stomach-jolting motion, his feet connected with solid ground. The hands were gone. He stumbled slightly, still gazing wildly at the earth.

'What was _that_?' he asked croakily.

'They,' Yami corrected him, straightening his shirt with one hand (the other was still being gripped by Yugi). 'They were the sons of the road.' Yugi looked at him quizzically, and he smiled indulgently. 'The road to the Other Place calls to your feet. When you say the spell, you're calling back.'

He began to walk, pulling Yugi with him.

'Ryou and Bakura are a little further along this way,' he waved the map vaguely in the direction they were heading.

As they walked, Yugi took a moment to look around them. He felt as though he were walking through a dream: the landscape was at once familiar and alien. The Other Place was like home, but only until examined closely; it was then that Yugi realised the colours were too rich, the light too golden, the scent of flowers and earthtoo heavy on the warm breeze. Ahead of them was a crossroads. At the point where the road forked, there was a scaffold and a gallows. Atop the gallows sat a crow, slick feathersgleaming oily green in the sun.

On the steps of the scaffold, Ryou and Bakura sat waiting, the crow watching them imperiously through a yellow-green glare. Every now and again, Ryou would cast a suspicious backward glance at it.

'There you are,' Bakura called. 'What took you so long?'

Ryou forced a soft smile at Yami and Yugi as they approached, and rose. 'There's been a change of plan,' he said carefully. 'We'll go to Tisèn, instead.' His eyes flickered toward the crow. Yami frowned and glanced at the bird. It hopped closer and tilted its head. 'It's an extra hour, but if we hurry...'

Silently, Yami pressed the map into Yugi's hands, tracing the path they would take with a fingertip.

'Why the sudden change?' he asked lightly, as they began to walk. He saw the crow glide after them, almost invisible in the shadows of the trees.

'I remembered that the herb I wanted doesn't grow near Ènyuil,' Ryou told him, watching as Bakura casually stooped to pluck a few smooth, flat stones from the path.

'What do you need the herb for?' Bakura asked.

The road curved, and now they were walking beside a river, flowing swift and proud over a bed of dazzling white stones.

'For tea,' Ryou answered.

Bakura snorted and paused to skim one of his stones across the surface of the river. They watched it skip once, twice, and splash prettily into the river on the fifth skip.

'You're really good,' commented Yugi, smiling up at Bakura.

In reply, he grinned wolfishly and selected another stone, running a finger down its edge. He tossed it in his hand, took aim-- and, faster than Yugi's eyes could follow, whirled on his heel, launching the stone into the trees behind them.

There was a sickening crunch, a strangled caw, and a dull thud.

'Yes, I am,' he agreed lazily.

* * *

Several kilometers further along its length, the road to Tisèn divided in two. One of the paths continued its run alongside the river, all the way to Tisèn. The other, a much smaller, rougher path, delved away into the forest, rapidly becoming hidden by thick overhanging tree branches. As Yami had shown Yugi on the map, it doubled back toward Ènyuil, though it added an extra two hours to the journey. Bakura led the group, and Yami brought up the rear, walking close and alert behind Yugi.

'I'm sorry Yugi,' Ryou said apologetically, as he carefully held a branch so that it couldn't snap in his face. 'It's not fair to throw you in the deep end like this.'

A little way back, Yami snorted derisively.

'_I_ said we shouldn't bring him.'

Yugi frowned, swallowed a retort and told Ryou, as calmly as he was able, 'Don't worry about it.'

Minute after minute, the path became more difficult. The ground, already uneven and strewn with sharp stones, dove into a steep slope. Evilly thorny branches hung across the path, and soon, despite their best efforts, their clothes were torn and their faces scratched.

'They call the thorns _tyuli_,' Yami told Yugi, as they both stopped a moment to disentangle themselves from the long, cruelly hooked thorns. 'They're weeds that grow naturally --' he hissed as a tiny branch snapped around and slapped him across the face, 'but the _lithouèn_ often grow them around their palaces and temples; they dip the thorns in poison.'

Within half an hour, both Yugi's ankles had been twisted rather badly. His muscles, frustratingly weakened from all the time he'd spent unconscious, were protesting violently. He grit his teeth and said nothing.

Finally, _finally_, the path evened out, and the thorns receded. Ahead, just visible through the trees, was a market. People, all gracefully built and moving like dancers through the maze of stalls, their voices rose and fell like music.

Their path widened, and they were able to walk side by side again. Ryou called them to a stop. Yugi ambled over to a tree and discretely sank to the ground in its shade.

'Do you see that statue?' Ryou asked, pointing at a slender figure hewn from granite. It was just visible through the crowd. 'We'll meet there in two hours. Try not to be too late, or it'll be dark before we get out of here.' He smiled and hoisted his bag into a more comfortable position over his shoulder, and, with a small wave, he left the path and vanished into the crowd.

Bakura stood still a moment longer, watching the crowd predatorily.

'You're not,' said Yami, in mild disgust.

'And what if I am?' Bakura asked coolly, eyes never once leaving the throng of people. After a few seconds, a small smirk began to bloom across his face. Without a backward glance, he dove forward and disappeared from sight. Yami watched him go, and then approached Yugi, who had settled against the trunk of the tree with his eyes closed.

'Are you alright?'

Yugi looked up at him. 'Yes.' At Yami's disbelieving look, he rolled his eyes. '_Yes_,' he repeated forcefully. 'It's hot. I wanted to take a breather.'

One eyebrow raised in mute disbelief, Yami shrugged and turned back to the market.

'Are you coming?' he asked over his shoulder.

'Just a minute,' Yugi replied, hauling himself to his feet. The muscles in his legs clenched horribly; he had to bite his tongue to keep from making a sound.

Once upright, he followed Yami into the market. Immediately, his senses were assaulted by a cacophony of sound, scent, colour. Almost enough to make him reel.

'Wow,' he muttered, and caught Yami smirking at him out of the corner of his eye.

'This way.'

They wound through the market; past stalls laden with everything from dried herbs and produce to finely woven cloth and jewellery. Yami stopped a short way from what looked like an unused temple. He glanced around, then, beckoning Yugi to follow, strode nonchalantly down a narrow alleyway.

Tucked away in the shadows was a dusty stall. Objects crafted from beaten gold, clay pots filled with herbs, potions labelled in a spidery lettering cluttered almost every available surface. A young man leant heavily against the stall, watching the activity in the market wistfully.

'Malik,' Yami greeted him.

The young man glanced at them, flicked his hand in a vague kind of wave, and smiled affably.

'_Kuimn_,' he said, almost to himself, before disappearing behind a flap of canvas. Yugi could hear him muttering to himself and moving boxes and jars around. He glanced questioningly at Yami.

'Wait a moment,' he murmured.

Seconds later, Malik reappeared, a smallearthenware jar cradled in the palm of his hand. He set it down, and looked back to Yami, still smiling.

'Who's your friend?' he asked, as if continuing a conversation. He jerked his head toward Yugi, earrings jangling merrily.

Yami put a hand on Yugi's shoulder and pushed him forward a little. 'This is Yugi,' he said. 'He's...' he made a subtle gesture with his left hand.

'One of yours? I thought as much,' Malik nodded and held out a hand to Yugi, who took it unhesitatingly. 'Nice to meet you. Are you staying long?' he asked, a hopeful note in his voice.

'You've been left alone, haven't you?' Yami grinned.

Malik heaved a theatrical sigh and nodded morosely. 'Always the same. Sunny day and I'm left here watching the only shop in town that no one ever visits. Five for the _kuimn_, by the way.'

While Yami dug in a pocket, Yugi regarded the jar curiously.

'Excuse me,' he asked. 'What's ..._kuimn_?'

'You drink it,' Malik told him, taking a fistful of coins from Yami. 'It's got herbs in it. Good substitute for the red stuff.' He shook his head. 'We get some weird people coming here, but it's not often you meet a vegetarian vampire.'

Yami snorted, picking up the _kuimn_ jar. 'I'm not a vegetarian,' his voice took on a bitter tone. 'You're talking to the proof of that.' He frowned darkly 'Anyway. You can't live on _kuimn_. I've tried. It's only good if you're planning on hunting soon.' As he spoke, he was wrestling with the lid of the _kuimn_ jar. Eventually, he pulled it free. Yugi could see a dark brown liquid sloshing in the jar. It gave off a heavy, unpleasant scent. Yami held out the jar to him. 'Have a mouthful of that.'

'You're joking.'

'No. Drink it. It's good for you.'

'Whatever you say.'

'It is,' Yami insisted. He noticed Malik watching them out of the corner of his eye; chin resting in his hand and a small smirk tugging the corners of his lips. 'I'm taking you hunting tonight. You'll need the energy.'

Yugi looked from the jar to Yami and back again, distaste written openly on his face. Yami sighed in frustration. Seeing that he was reaching the end of his patience, Yugi took the jar and took a gulp of the liquid. He gagged; it tasted foul. Malik laughed at his expression.

'Why doesn't anyone visit your store?' Yugi asked, once he was certain he wasn't going to throw the _kuimn_ back up.

Malik sobered abruptly. 'Because my family and I are sympathetic to vampires, among other things. Speaking of sympathisers, you'd be staying at Ryou's, wouldn't you?' He nodded decisively. 'I've been meaning to visit him. You might be seeing me again in a couple of days,' he grimaced dramatically. 'If I survive taking care of this stupid--' He broke off to growling.

'See you soon, then,' said Yami, turning and leading Yugi away.

* * *

_This chapter was really hard to write (I hate the ending. Too abrupt). I __apologise__ for how late it was, but I do have a good reason: school. Things are getting a little hectic at the moment. That, and suddenly the plot's kicked into gear. Anyway, there are several scenes that I wrote in this that I've taken out (oh my God, it might've been even longer). Below is the one I would've liked to keep in the story the most. It starts after Yami says:_ 'No. You're not going.' 

'I told you last night that--!'

'You're staying here.'

Never one to be ignored, Bakura nudged Ryou in the ribs. 'Maybe we should give them some... alone time,' he said suggestively.

'Shh!' hissed Ryou. 'Don't make it any worse.'

'You didn't let me finish!'

'I know what you're going to say, and I'll tell you again, _you can't help_.'

'Why _not_?'

'You're too young, too weak and too inexperienced! You're a _child_!'

'...That's what you think?' Yugi asked softly, eyes dewy with sudden tears. A pink tinge had appeared on his cheeks. Without another word, he pushed back his chair and quit the room. A few moments later, they heard the door to his and Yami's room close.

'That struck a nerve,' said Bakura smugly. He ignored Yami's snarl.

'I'll go talk to him,' said Ryou wearily. 'Can I trust you two _adults_ not to kill one another?'

'That was a cheap shot,' noted Bakura. He seized Ryou's newspaper. 'Can I have the crosswords?'

'Fine, fine,' Ryou waved him off and followed Yugi upstairs.

'Since when did you ask permission?' asked Yami.

'Since when did you make kids cry?'

Yami bit his tongue and stormed from the room.

_Alone at last_, thought Bakura and hummed a little tune as he started on the crossword.


	7. and In Shadow

**_Obligatory rambling:_** _Okay! Sorry, another chapter that's sort of on the unfinished side. I wanted to update, but (tada! This month's excuse) I've had lots happening: SWOTVAC, exams, Valedictory, sang for small people, and no small amount of lethargy and procrastination. But it's here. _

_Quick thankies to lovely, lovely reveiwers: _**HOPPY-SAN2345,** **Silently Broken,** **DarkElf6, **and**RedEyesDarknessDragonLady**!

_Once I've finished this, I've had a new idea I'm going to try. Drew some concept art, will put it on deviantart when I get around to it, for those who're curious/really bored. Anyway! On with the show, and I hope you enjoy._

* * *

_**... and in Shadow**_

No one said a word on the walk back to Ryou's house: Ryou seemed to be lost in his own thoughts, Yugi concentrated all his energy on surviving the walk back, and Yami and Bakura had called an uneasy truce. They ignored one another completely.

The journey passed uneventfully (though excruciatingly slowly, in Yugi's mind. Even after drinking the revolting _kuimn_, he was more exhausted than he'd ever been), and soon Ryou was pushing open his front gate. The sun was just beginning to set behind the house, casting long, deep shadows across the garden and the road.

Yami laid a hand on Yugi's shoulder, halting him.

'We're hunting tonight,' he announced.

'I'll leave the doors unlocked,' Ryou promised, closing the front get behind him with a _clang_.

Yami led Yugiawaydownthe road, toward the town.

'Lock up as you come in, please,' Ryou called after them. He glanced at Bakura. 'Are you going out too?'

'No,' Bakura said, narrowing his eyes calculatingly. 'Something's bothering you. Who did you talk to today?'

Ryou sighed. 'I'll explain inside.'

* * *

A short ways into the town, there was a little park, barely more than a patch of dying grass, scattered with a few stunted trees and crossed by a worn concrete path. At the middle of the park, in the middle of a grove of the sickly trees, was a dilapidated children's playground. Yami led the way toward it, and sat down on an ancient swing. The chains supporting it creaked under his weight. Yugi perched on the swing beside him. 

'It's a good night for hunting,' Yami said without preamble. 'It'd be better if it was raining.' He gestured vaguely around the park. 'It's cold, so there's fewer people. The only people on the streets are the ones with nowhere else to go.'

'...and you prey on them?' Yugi wrinkled his nose. 'That's...'

'Practical. People with nowhere else to go tend not to have any family to miss them, and everyone generally assumes that they've just... O.D'ed.'

'But still it's--' Yugi licked his lips and sighed. 'It just doesn't seem right, is all.'

'I know,' Yami swung a little, back and forth, with his feet planted firmly on the ground. 'Look at it this way: how many cats do you know who feel guilty for killing a mouse? It's just nature.'

They sat in silence for a while. Yugi scuffed the toes of his shoes along, digging shallow trenches in the dirt.

'When are we going?' he asked resignedly.

Yami tilted his head back, gazed at the darkening sky.

'Whenever you're ready,' he said.

With a small noise of assent, Yugi slid down from his swing, watched as Yami slid to his feet.

'I'll go first,' Yami said. 'You can get an idea of what to do, then. Don't look so nervous!' He smiled in what he hoped was an encouraging way. 'It's mostly instinctive. The hard part is finding a victim.'

He set off, heading southeast, toward the centre of the town, Yugi trailing rather reluctantly in his wake. A few people still hurried along the main streets, so they kept to the side streets and alleyways.

Beside a dingy antique store, Yami stopped and held a finger to his lips. He pointed at a middle aged man, leaning drunkenly against the side of the store, his face pressed against the cold glass and an empty bottle hanging limply from his fingertips.

Yami pulled Yugi out of earshot, and murmured to him, 'Tell me why I've chosen him.'

'Because he's alone... he's...' Yugi glanced around the corner at the man. He'd begun to sob, with his face still pressed tightly up against the window. The bottle lay shattered at his feet, and he lifted his hand to trace wistful patterns on the glass. His clothes were worn and stained. 'He's homeless, isn't he?'

'It's a safe bet,' Yami nodded. 'The only problem is that he's drunk. Any chemicals in a person's blood will affect you too, just not quite as much as it would a human. Try not to choose any victims that show signs of substance abuse.'

'How do you know the signs?' Yugi asked nervously. 'And why are you choosing that man if he's drunk?'

'I'm old. I've learned the signs. And after you've been around for a few hundred years, you build up quite an alcohol tolerance.'

With that, he slunk onto the dim street and sauntered casually toward the drunken man. His footsteps barely made a sound. There was barely half a meter between Yami and the man when he leapt, tackling the man to the pavement, his jaws closing over his throat before they hit the ground.

The man let out a guttural noise between a grunt and a squeak, and was silent.

Moments later, Yami was on his feet, delicately licking stray flecks of blood from his lips.

Yugi shuddered involuntarily.

'Come on,' Yami called, motioning him out of the shadows. There was no remorse in his eyes; he was even _smiling_. 'It's your turn now.'

* * *

She sat on a wide window ledge, bare feet dangling in the chilly air, two stories above the ground. In her hands was a lily; she turned it over in her fingertips, stroking tenderly along its petals. 

'Soon,' she crooned, lifting the flower to her lips. 'Soon, my dear one, we'll play.' Her lips curled sweetly, but her eyes remained blank.

'We'll have a new toy,' she whispered ecstatically, and threw the lily to the ground. 'Won't that be _fun_?'

The street below was almost empty but for two figures, keeping to the shadows.

'The cat is here, dear one!' she chirruped, leaping down from the window. 'And he's brought a lovely _mousey_!' As she fell, she grabbed the horizontal bar of a streetlamp, swung around and landed softly on the pavement.

'Mousey, mousey!' she trilled as she followed the two figures. 'What _fun_ we'll have, dear one!'

* * *

Yugi licked his lips apprehensively. Yami made this look so _easy_... There was his prey up ahead: a girl, probably not too much younger than him, shivering beneath a threadbare coat. Her only shelter was the crumbling doorway of a derelict building. 

Pity stabbed through his heart as he edged nearer.

Once, the girl's face had probably been very pretty, he could see. Now though, her skin was as papery and thin as an old woman's; her eyes were glassy and shadowed by dark rings. Her lips were thin and parched, and the hands that clutched the coat were withered.

'I can't do this,' he whispered.

He glanced around the quiet street. Yami stood nearby, almost invisible in the shadows, watching him. Yugi turned back to the girl.

'I have to do this,' he muttered wretchedly, inching closer.

The girl hadn't noticed him yet, and he was thankful.

Less than a meter from where she sat, he stopped. Crouched in the shadows, he took a moment to master himself. He even tried Ryou's breathing trick again; he was certain his heartbeat had quieted a little.

If nothing else, it had stopped his knees' shaking.

He pounced, bearing the girl to the ground. Instinctively, his teeth found the carotid artery, effectively silencing the girl before she'd ever had a chance to scream.

Blood flooded Yugi's mouth, salty and metallic. He swallowed reflexively.

Within seconds, the girl's veins were dry, and Yugi let her body sag lifelessly to the pavement. He sat still and silent, swallowing thickly.

The taste of blood remained on his tongue. The girl's lifeless eyes stared at him; he closed them, gently, with his right hand.

'Yugi...'

He didn't turn at the sound of footsteps behind him, nor did he move when a warm hand closed gently over his shoulder.

'Yugi,' repeated Yami, closer to his ear this time.

'Does it --' he licked his lips. 'Does it feel like this every time?' he asked tonelessly.

'It gets easier.'

'I don't know that I want it to,' he said. He couldn't seem to tear his eyes away from the dead girl's face.

Yami's grip on his shoulder tightened, turning him around, and now he was staring unseeingly at the smooth contours of Yami's face. An arm wrapped around his waist, and he allowed himself to slump bonelessly against the warm body.

'You're not a killer,' Yami said at length. Yugi could feel his voice rumbling in his chest. '_You have to learn_. You can't live on _kuimn_.'

'I know,' sighed Yugi. He leaned his forehead against Yami's shoulder. 'She's younger than I am,' he mumbled.

'Don't think like that,' Yami told him sternly.

For several minutes, Yugi was silent, practicing Ryou's breathing trick to calm down.

The taste of blood was gradually beginning to fade in his mouth.

'Yami...?' he said softly. 'I want to go home.'

'I'll take you back to Ryou's --'

'No,' Yugi pushed himself upright. 'I want to go _home_. To my friends, and my grandpa and… I just-- I want to go home.'

With his left hand, that had until that moment been resting lightly on his knee, Yami took one of Yugi's hands and squeezed it comfortingly.

'I don't-- this isn't... god...' Somehow, Yugi managed a grin. He lifted his free hand to his face, and was surprised when his fingers came away wet. 'I'm sorry. God knows I'd thought about all this when you told me I was -- but I didn't -- and it's--'

'It takes a long time to sink in,' Yami pulled him into a tighter hug, dropping his hand and wrapping his left arm around his shoulders. 'Just... let it out. You'll, uh, you'll feel better.'

'You're not very good at this, are you?' Yugi said wryly.

'No, he never-_ever_ was,' said a sweet voice.

Yugi started and looked around wildly. He heard Yami swear under his breath.

'Pussy cat, pussy cat, where _have_ you been?' sang the voice, closer now. 'It's been so _long_.'

A girl emerged from the shadows, barefoot and ghostly pale, with an almost boyishly thin figure and wide, milky eyes.

'_Fuck_,' Yami hissed. He stood up, pulling Yugi with him.

'I _missed_ you,' the girl said sweetly, taking a step toward them (Yami pushed Yugi behind him). 'You're so hard to find, did you know? I looked and I _looked_...' She gave a sad little sigh, all the while watching them calculatingly. 'But you're always _gone_ before I get a chance to see you...' A delighted smile bloomed on her lips (Yugi looked into her eyes and shuddered). 'But I've _found_ you, this time! Isn't it lovely?' She took another step closer.

'_Liliith_,' hissed Yami. 'What are you doing here?'

'You're not happy to see me?' Lillith pouted, twirled a strand of pale hair around her index finger coquettishly. 'Kitty-cat, I'm so sad... you were _so_ lovely and caring before... and then you ran away!' She sighed again, a sound like glass shattering. '_Why_ did you run away from me? Wasn't I a good friend?'

'You tried to kill me,' Yami said bluntly. He shuffled Yugi back a step. 'Several times.'

'You _abandoned_ me!' wailed Lillith, wringing her hands melodramatically. She covered her face and broke into loud, wracking sobs.

'Run,' Yami hissed to Yugi, under the cover of Lillith's hysterics. 'Go back to Ryou's. Keep to the main streets. Tell Ryou what's happened. He'll know what to do.'

'What about you?'

'I'll go around the alleys,' Yami glanced back at Lillith, still convulsed in earsplitting grief. 'Go now.' He gave Yugi a shove. '_Now_.'

The sound of Yugi's footsteps faded into the distance and Lillith peered at Yami from between her fingers. Her eyes were dry.

'You sent your pretty mousey away, kitty-cat,' she said softly. There was sharpness in her tone that hadn't been there before. 'That's not fair. Not at all. You should always share, pretty kitty.'

'Don't touch him,' spat Yami. 'He hasn't done _anything _to you.'

'Silly,' she whispered. As she came nearer, she swayed her narrow hips in what she thought was a seductive way. The movement was almost lost amongst the folds of her shapeless clothes. 'If you have it, I _want _it. Didn't you know?' She raised a hand, and made as though to run it down his face.

Yami moved out of her reach with a disgusted snarl. She giggled.

'Not like _that_! No,' she shook her head, never taking her eyes from his face. She leaned toward him conspiratorially. 'I have a new friend, did you know? He was going to meet you tonight. _Very_ interested in meeting you... but...' she mock sighed, clasped her hands in front of her chest, 'I suppose he'll just have to meet the pretty mousey first.'

'_What_?'

Without waiting for a reply, Yami bolted down the street in the direction he'd sent Yugi. He heard Lillith's tinkling laughter echoing behind him.

'Run, kitty-cat! Perhaps you'll get to meet Taiyu after all if you hurry!' she cried after him.

For several minutes, she stood still, until the echo of Yami's feet on the pavement died away.

'A new toy, dear one,' she whispered ecstatically. 'And a second soon to come!'

* * *

Beneath the cool orange glow of the street lamps, Yugi stopped to catch his breath. The muscles in his legs were screaming at him. 

He braced his hands on his knees and looked around the street. Aside from himself, the only other people was a group of young people, all clean and neatly dressed, apparently on their way to one of the handful of clubs on the other side of town.

A droplet of sweat rolled down his forehead and dripped from the end of his nose. He wheezed shrilly and lowered his head.

_God,_ he thought, _I think I'm going to be sick._

'Are you alright?' asked a smooth voice somewhere above his head.

He straightened. The group he'd seen moments earlier had gathered around him. The man who had spoken to him stood the closest, looking down his nose at him, while the others hung back slightly, saying nothing.

Yugi forced a smile and shuffled a few painful steps backward.

'Yes, I'm fine,' he said brightly. 'I was just on my way home.'

'Really?' the man took a step toward him. He shuffled back and cursed under his breath when his back hit the lamppost. 'Do you live nearby?'

Yugi sighed. He was tired, sore, and a long overdue emotional breakdown was knocking at the backs of his teeth.

'What do you want?' he demanded flatly.

The man regarded him thoughtfully a moment. He parted his lips and made a small, shrill whistling noise. One of the group behind him surged toward Yugi, his hands outstretched and curled into claws. In the split second before those hands closed around his arms, Yugi made a decision.

He let himself fall blissfully unconscious.

* * *

By the time Yami arrived on the main street, it was completely deserted. He paused, for barely a second, hurriedly glancing around the empty street. 

In the distance, he could hear soft laughter, and a voice raised in song.

Madly hoping that Yugi'd made it back to Ryou's place, Yami gasped in a breath and continued to run.

* * *

_Mmnn, another awkward ending. _


End file.
